03.29.07

A Pittsburgh man convicted of a 1988 murder has been freed after DNA evidence cleared him of the crime. Drew Whitley, had been convicted of second-degree murder in a shooting incident at the local McDonald’s restaurant.

Whitney is suing six former detectives in Allegheny County alleging he was targeted because he was black. Whitney said that detectives ignored evidence that should have exonerated him before his case had gone to trial.

In a similar case, a Boston man is suing police after being freed by DNA evidence after he spent 12 ½ year in jail on a rape conviction. Anthony Powell also alleges that police ignored evidence in the case and acted in bad faith in regard to the results of the forensic tests that cast doubt on his guilt.